Many countries have laws which control the export of certain products and technologies for strategic reasons. Without an appreciation of export control law for a given country, a business risks inadvertent violations with significant consequences as problems can occur in unlikely circumstances where violators are subject to criminal and/or administrative penalties. Many governments take the position that industry compliance is the first and best line of defense in protecting national security interests. Thus, compliance with export control law allows industry to avoid enforcement actions by preventing violations.
One class of technology that can be subject to export control laws includes digital converters such as analog to digital converters (ADC) and digital to analog converters (DAC). Export controls typically specify a maximum resolution output at a given sample rate for the converter. For example, ADC resolution is typically limited by export control law in the United States, for example, to 14 bits of resolution at 125 mega-samples per second (MSPS). Unfortunately, such limitations on resolution can severely limit the ability to support other applications such as the ability to convert data at a communications base station, for example.